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Rapids introduce goalkeeper Tim Howard

He is the highest-paid and most recognizable player in franchise history

By Daniel Boniface

The Denver Post

Posted:
06/28/2016 08:40:45 PM MDT

Updated:
06/28/2016 08:41:21 PM MDT

VP of soccer operations Paul Bravo, goalkeeper Tim Howard, and President Tim Hinchey show off Howard's new jersey Tuesday as he is introduced as a member of the Colorado Rapids during a news conference at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. (Michael Reaves / The Denver Post)

COMMERCE CITY — When U.S. national team goalkeeper Tim Howard slipped into a Rapids jersey and took to the training field at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Monday, the Rapids' front office finally exhaled.

The Secretary of Defense had landed in Colorado. The best defensive team in Major League Soccer had a new leader.

"It was relief," Paul Bravo, Rapids VP of soccer operations and technical director, said of the feeling he got seeing Howard working out. "But certainly it puts us into a new era."

The MLS-leading Rapids on Tuesday officially introduced Howard, the highest-paid and most recognizable player in franchise history, at a packed news conference at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Dressed in a sharp, navy-blue blazer and a burgundy knit tie, the Rapids' new No. 1 goalkeeper acknowledged some tough conversations with the team's front office in finalizing the deal, but in the end he decided to make the leap of faith to Colorado, a club coming off back-to-back losing seasons.

"I didn't feel like they were selling me a bill of goods," he said. "It felt genuine, and so that was the biggest part of it for me. There was no place that I would rather be when I finished having those discussions. It was Denver for sure."

Howard left MLS in 2003 for Manchester United, where he played 77 games, then joined Everton, where he appeared in 415 matches.

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And who could write a better script for Howard's return to MLS after a 13-year run in the English Premier League? The 37-year-old, who has started and won more games for the U.S. national team than any other goalkeeper, will be available to make his Rapids debut Monday, the Fourth of July, against defending MLS Cup champion Portland.

"I've always been someone who handles doors opening and closing very easily," Howard said. "Everton's always in my heart. It's the club I spent 10 years at. It's a new chapter. It's a new challenge. It's something I'm hungry for here."

Howard will lead the Supporters' Shield leaders in front of an expected sellout crowd on America's birthday. After the match, the Rapids will ignite the largest public fireworks display in Colorado. It is shaping up to be the biggest night in the 20-plus-year history of the franchise, one that seemed ludicrous just six months ago.

"I can assure you that I did not guarantee Tim Howard that we would be in first place by the time he came and played his first game," Bravo said.

In January, the Rapids were viewed as the doormats of MLS. They were coming off back-to-back losing seasons, and talk centered around whether coach Pablo Mastroeni deserved to keep his job. The front office had swung and missed on acquiring a pair of big-name players — Mexican international Alan Pulido and U.S. international Alejandro Bedoya. Their biggest offseason signing to that point, Marco Pappa, was recovering after a bizarre stabbing incident.

Since then, the Rapids have turned everything around.

"Last year we brought in Kevin (Doyle)," Mastroeni said. "This year we brought in Shkelzen Gashi, we brought in Jermaine Jones, and now we have this midseason gift in Tim Howard."

Colorado is riding a franchise-record 11-game unbeaten streak thanks in large part to the defense, one that has allowed the fewest goals (11) in the league. The Rapids have received strong play from goalkeeper Zac MacMath, who leads MLS in shutouts (six) and goals-against average (0.69 per game).

The Rapids now add Howard — at a hefty price of $2.57 million per season — to bring his shot-stopping skill, his ability to organize the defense, leadership and marketability.

Bravo said he didn't have any concerns paying Howard a sum more than 10 times what the average MLS starting goalkeeper earns.

"Tim is the best player in his position in this league," Bravo said. "He's a great leader, and he makes the players around him better. And when you look at that in totality, it's a no-brainer. Doesn't matter the position."

The instant name recognition and credibility factor into that price tag as well. Howard broke through from soccer star to pop culture sensation after his record-setting 15-save performance against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup. #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave became an internet meme.

After the match, President Barack Obama said he would consider Howard for the cabinet position of Secretary of Defense and famously told the goalkeeper he would need to shave his beard in order to escape the mobs of adoring fans when he returned to the States.

Howard's beard was intact in his Rapids introduction, and he insisted after a decade with Everton FC he was more nervous meeting his new teammates than they were to meet him. Howard said he didn't think it would take long for him to earn the respect of his new teammates through his play.

The next step for Howard will be to build chemistry with his back line, a process he said will begin out on the training fields.

"I don't know the answer to how long it will take to jell," Howard said. "Hopefully very quickly."

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